by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information
While the end of Kansas City Kansas Community College’s women’s basketball season didn’t come until the national tournament, the fate of Blue Devils may have been decided four weeks earlier.
On the final play of the first half of KCKCC’s game against Fort Scott March 13, guard Hannah Valentine crashed to the floor with a season-ending leg injury. The Blue Devils’ leading scorer and rebounder,
Valentine’s loss was further compounded in the national tournament by an injury that sidelined Mercer Roberts, the season long starter in the middle.
Down two starters, KCKCC was upset by 14th seeded Union County (N.J.) 62-59 in overtime in the first round of the national tournament and then eliminated two games later.
Would Valentine and Mercer have made a difference?
”I believe so but I can’t really say,” KCKCC coach Joe McKinstry said. “Hannah was our best player the first two weeks. She gave us some consistency and versatility that we really missed when she was gone. And Mercer Roberts started all year long and we only lost two of 22 games. Without her, we lost two of three.”
The Blue Devils finished with a 21-4 record. Two of the losses came in the national tournament; the other two to No. 1 Johnson County, which finished second in the national tournament and a team the Blue Devils defeated 67-59 to win the Plains Regional championship.
“Given the amount of new faces and the level of inexperience, I was very pleased with what this group accomplished,” McKinstry said. “Obviously we wished we had a better final week but you can’t take away from everything we did before that. We came into the regional playing really well, beating Labette on Sophomore Day and again in the regional and then knocking off Johnson County in the championship game. It was the best stretch of basketball we had all season but then we just played awful in the national (27 turnovers and 14 missed free throws).”
With athletes getting an extra year of eligibility, the Blue Devils will have an abundance of experience next season. Only two players will be moving on, Valentine and guard Aliyah Myers, a first team All-Jayhawk and All-Region selection. Named the Jayhawk’s Defensive Player of the Year, Myers led the Blue Devils in steals (80) and assists (120) while second in scoring (13.5) and third in rebounding (5.5). Valentine averaged 13.6 points and 6.5 rebounds, playing in just 14 games.
That leaves 10 players scheduled to return, headed by 5-6 Tiaria Earnest, who was named to the All-Jayhawk and All-Region VI first teams. Earnest averaged 12.5 points but 14.8 in playoff games. She was also second in rebounding (5.6). Also back are guards Faith Putz, who averaged 8.3 points, D,Q, Guillory (8.1), D,J, Guillory (7.2), Lacy Whitcomb (5.4) and Aysia Arrowood (3.3),
Front court returnees include 6-0 Ikia Elam, who averaged 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds; 5-11 Roberts, 5.8 and 4.3; and 6-0 Trinity McDow (3.6 and 3.0) along with 6-1 Jewel Hart, who joined the team just in time to score in double figures in two playoff games. She averaged 7.6 points and 3.9 points after missing three-fourths of the season with an injury.
The returning experience will be significant.
“Only two times can I compare that much experience,” McKinstry said. “The first time in 2015-16 and we won the national championship. The second time in 2018-19 and we won the national championship. But neither of those teams had won a regional championship or been a national tournament qualifier. So this group is way ahead of those teams.”